


When Dreams Take Flight

by FuneralCake



Series: Plot Bunny Junkyard [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Angst, Drabble, Mentor Tobirama, Multi, Naruto can see ghosts AU, Protective Tobirama, Reincarnation, Second Chances, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Uchiha Madara-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:54:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23801152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuneralCake/pseuds/FuneralCake
Summary: A collection of drabbles and plot bunnies.Chapter Two: Naruto was 6 when he finds out that the only friends he's made are dead people. That all this time, the people he kept seeing weren't really... there.Should people really be so surprised though? Naruto had been touched by the shinigami after all.Chapter Three:Naruto remembers.He remembers many things.He remembers that he has been here before.Has been here over and over again. In between breaths and heart beats and lifetimes.He remembers being Naruto Uzumaki.Then he remembers being someone else entirely.
Relationships: Senju Hashirama/Uchiha Madara, Senju Tobirama & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Plot Bunny Junkyard [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714804
Comments: 18
Kudos: 261





	1. A Lonely God, A Crying God

**Author's Note:**

> Initially I planned to lump together all my bunnies in one coop? Pen? Something. But I didn't want people who just wanted to read the khr stuff to have to sort and skip some chapters? I Also didn't want to overshadow any of the added fandoms or disappoint people expecting a new khr ideas and fics.
> 
> So instead I decided to make a series where I could put in all my brain vomit in their little, nice, neatly sorted cells.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Madara is lost but that's fine because Hashirama knows exactly where they're headed.

_The loss of Izuna broke him. It was a burden he knew he would bear till the end. But Hashirama, Hashirama was his strength, who reforged him and made him stronger than what he was before. The best of friends they started, before war and names and legacy tainted their innocent friendship, shattering it till they were left with nothing, only to forge something else in it's stead._

_Madara knew his power. Knew the grief and horror that came with it. He was a mad god amongst mortals. A cursed sword of havoc and destruction. He was the stench of copper, spilled in hopes of a future._

_As much as Madara knew his strength though, he knew Hashirama's even better. Hashirama was a breath of fresh air. Was calm and silence in a world that kept wailing, kept screaming and begging. He was the one breathing life to a world of corpses. He was the steady hand guiding Madara through the darkness. The steadfast, unyielding arms holding him back when the screaming got too loud._

_Hashirama was the dreamer. He was the one chasing the sun rising in the far off distance even as they stumbled in the dark of night._


	2. Through Glassy Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto was 6 when he finds out that the only friends he's made are dead people. That all this time, the people he kept seeing weren't really... _there._
> 
> Should people really be so surprised though? Naruto had been touched by the shinigami after all.

They've always been there.

From the moment he first laid his eyes on the world with comprehension, he could see them as clearly as everyone else.

He was 5 when he was thrown out of the orphanage. They didn't want a freak like him. He made the mistake of saying that at least "Aki-chan" was nice to him, and the matron paled when she heard it. Afterwards the woman wouldn't let him in, despite how much the people in the white masks threatened her.

Soon he was seated before Jiji, explaining who Aki was. (Years later he would find out that she was a gennin that grew up in orphanage. She died while evacuating the children during the Kyubi attack.) Then when Jiji asked if there was anyone like Aki (paler, almost glowing and floating, phasing through objects,) around and Naruto tells him about the white haired man in his office, with red marks on his cheeks and chin, who was always guarding the office.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Tobirama-ji!" Naruto said with a bright grin, looking at the space behind Hiruzen and the old man feels like his chest is several sizes too small to contain his heart.

"Huh. He said that it's maybe because I've been touched by the sh...shi... shinginami..." Naruto struggles at the word and whatever doubts Hiruzen may have is gone. This is Naruto. Not a spy who has taken his place (no spy would use such a ludricious back story after all,) nor has the child gone insane. It is simply Naruto, a sad child who knows more of the dead than he should.

"Shinigami, Naruto-kun," he corrects gently.

"Yeah, yeah! That! He says that that's why I can see them... What are they, Jiji?" Naruto asked, brow scrunched in confusion. It occurs to him that perhaps all this time, Naruto thought everyone else could see them too.

"They are ghosts, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen explained to the little boy. "They are probably the souls, the chakra of our loved ones who have passed. They are the people who have left this world. You've been given a gift Naruto-kun. Not everyone can see them. But you must take care. Ghosts are people too. Some may hurt you, just as much as the living do."

"Yes Jiji, they're people too! Just.., really lonely. I'll be their friend, so they don't feel so lonely!" Naruto said with a wide smile, before he focuses again on the space behind Hiruzen, listening to someone he couldn't see.

"Jiji?," Naruto finally speaks, confusion clear in his eyes. "He said the fans are a part of the leaf as much as everyone else is."

"You have given me much to think about, my child," Hiruzen said with a deep hum. "For now, one of the Anbu will escort you to an apartment. You can stay there for now. I will have someone bring you your meals daily."

"Okay Jiji! Tobirama-ji said he's gonna come with me! This will be fun!" Naruto cheers, confirming the truth of his words even more.

"I see. Then I trust you to be in good hands, Naruto-kun. Tobirama-sensei was my gennin teacher and one of the strongest ninja in the leaf, ever," Hiruzen said smiling at the little boy. "Be sure to listen to what Tobirama-sensei says."

"Thanks Jiji!"

\----

"Ne, Tobirama-ji, do I really have to eat these?," Naruto wrinkles his nose at the food the masked guys brought him. There's a pile of green stuff at one corner that he really doesn't want but his ji-san (he has an uncle now! How cool is that?,) insists it's good for him.

"If you don't eat your vegetables Naruto, you'll never grow into a big and strong shinobi," Tobirama said calmy. He is patient with the child, and really he is sure he can keep being patient with Naruto. The child, while teeming with boundless energy and endless questions, was a refreshing breath of fresh air in comparison to the people Tobirama surrounded himself with in his final days. He has dealt with Hashirama. He has taught his own genin team. He has herded and appeased fussy nobles and civilians alike. He can raise a boy just fine.

He has taken it upon himself to teach the child the things the orphanage have neglected to. He teaches Naruto how to keep himself and his apartment clean, and more importantly why he should do so. He teaches Naruto how to cook. How to prepare food and what to look for when he buys food. He even gets the child to ask Hiruzen for an ANBU escort when shopping when he realizes how much they overprice the child.

He teaches the child how to write and read. He enjoys having Naruto practice his writing by making him write letters to Hiruzen that he himself cannot write. He enjoys the headache his student, trying to decipher Naruto's chicken scratch.

He also teaches him about the ninja arts. About training and kata and physical practice. He teaches him about chakra. How to feel it within himself, how it flows and how to redirect it into certain points in his body. They would meditate together, after he has managed to tire Naruto out with physical exercise, to simply feel nature and it's calmness. Then they would practice chakra control exercises. He knows it would only help the boy who looked to be burning with the amount of energy in his small form.

Still, Tobirama feels like the most important lesson he imparts upon the child the value of knowledge. Of learning, for the sake of learning. Of asking questions and not settling till all your curiosities has been answered. Till you not just know a jutsu, but understand why it's working so you can adjust it to your liking. Of understanding how to throw weapons so you know what to expect of it no matter what angle you throw. Not just the techniques but why they work.

Eventually he realizes that Naruto _is_ actually rather inquisitive by nature. He asks intelligent questions and is stubborn enough to keep trying to figure out whatever task or challenge he is given. He realizes that his stay in the orphanage seems to have disocuraged this behaviour, which really isn't much of a surprise. With their cold shoulders and sharp tongues, it is no wonder that Naruto would learn to keep his questions to himself. Nonetheless, Tobirama is a genius and he cannot have his charge be anything less than the best he could be.

He has faith that Naruto would go a long way. He knows it.

It doesn't take much for Tobirama to realize that he has become the child's guardian. And what's more, that he has grown to care for Naruto. Naruto who is so ver bright and sunny in the same way Hashirama was. In the way Tobirama only hoped he could be. He just needed to temper it, this flame that Hashirama speaks of, that burns so brightly in Naruto's heart. He needs to teach Naruto to step back, least he burn himself out, like so many of this village's heroes did.

He looks at Naruto, who looks at him with wide trusting eyes and a bright smile and realizes that this little life depended on him. His core values will be shaped by him. He had complete faith in Tobirama to guide him. It was humbling, as much as it gave him pride. He will not let Naruto down.

\-----

Time marches on and things get hectic with the other clans. His intervention is not enough to stop the bloodshed that followed, but it is enough to seek justice from the people whom he himself had wronged. He understands now, what Hashirama meant. About petty death and sacrifices. About trust and strength from the people in _his_ village.

He is still very unhappy with Hiruzen however and proceeds to give him a thorough tongue lashing (in letter form, that he made Naruto write. Hiruzen deserved the additional headache of dealing with the 5 year old's hand writing,) giving him a complete summary of everything the old war hawk has done behind his back.

The tale of Itachi Uchiha is spoken now with pity. People speak in hushed whispers, of a child genius, traumatized by war, manipulated into killing his entire clan, for the sake of Konoha's peace. It may take years of counseling before either of the brothers recover.

\-----------

Mito and Hashirama came as a surprise. They were standing on top of Kage mountain, overlooking the village. They found the twosome when Tobirama decided to bring Naruto there and try to impart his brother's will of fire, or at least put it into words. _The child had plenty of it on his own._

The reunion brought warmth to the ghost's long chilled being, thinking he has been left alone while his family has moved on to the after life. It had haunted him, made him think that he must have done some things wrong if he were not allowed to move on the way his family had, but it would seem that his vigil over the kages was what kept him from finding his family.

_He had sworn to stay there, in that building. To watch over the future of the village Hashirama built. It seemed Hashirama had the same idea. Except where Tobirama decided to keep overlooking how the village was ran, Hashirama decided to see how the village had lived._

At the end of the day all three of them went back with Naruto, Mito and Hashirama filling the gaps of his education that Tobirama cannot. Mito specifically, was keen to pass down the clan's legacy. She teaches Naruto their history, of a once mighty village and the tradgdy of it's fall.

She takes over writing and reading from Tobirama too, who gives in graciously, knowing that the Uzumaki princess would one day teach Naruto the sealing arts his clan had been most known for.

She even teaches Naruto how to sew the Uzumaki spiral into his clothes.

\----------------------

"Hashi-ji, why are there so many ghosts?," Naruto asked, tugging at the elder Senju's sleeve (and wasn't that a surprise? He could touch them so long as he coated his skin with chakra. They even discover that he could let other people see ghosts when he was holding the person and the ghost at the same time.)

He was looking at the Uchiha compound and Hashirama felt a dark stab of guilt in his heart.

"That's the Uchiha compound, Naru-kun," Hashirama said gravely. "I feel like we are to blame for what has become of it." It does not escape his attention that the nearby Uchiha ghosts see them interacting with the child. At least this way, the child might gain more friends than just the three of them.


	3. The Stains That Mark Our History Books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto remembers.
> 
> He remembers many things.
> 
> He remembers that he has been here before. _Has been here over and over again. In between breaths and heart beats and lifetimes._
> 
> He remembers being Naruto Uzumaki.
> 
> _Then he remembers being someone else entirely._

"That didn't turn out so well, did it?"

Naruto stirs. He fights to open his eyes, urges his body not to succumb to the darkness. Now is not the time for relief. He had been fighting before. _What had he been fighting?_

"Is this it for you, Asura?" The voice speaks again.

It's a man. Old and gentle, yet strong. _It reminds him of another man, long long ago. Before all of this fighting began._ He _had been his only friend then._

_Friends._

The words called to him. It made something in him stir. _He had friends. People to fight for. He was fighting for friends. He was fighting **a friend** too, wasn't he _

"That's it Asura. You have people to return to, don't you?"

There he is again. Was he called Asura? He had a different name didn't he? He wasn't Asura. Hadn't been Asura in a long long time.

_He sees great beasts and sages. Power in all sorts of shape and form. He sees war and chaos and hurt. Bloodshed and death and destruction, over and over again._

_He opens different eyes to different worlds and different times. He comes to in the heart of violence, over and over again. And through it all, he sees hope._

_He remembers kindness in the most unlikely of places. Companionship and care. Camaraderie and sacrifice. Over and over again, darkness would devour his father's world and over and over again, from the heart of said darkness he'd find light. Little specks of compassion glowing like fireflies in the night._

"You remember," the voice said. "Do you remember your brother?"

He had a brother? Wasn't he an orphan? In the now that isn't. But there is more to brotherhood than blood, is there not?

_He remembers waking in different eyes, and remembers different pairs that look straight back at him. Different faces that look at him with the same grief and anger and horror. With the same envy and loathing and love in a complicated tangle that has become the norm._

Indra.

_All the very different faces of Indra that look at him. That clash swords with him. Clash blades and energy. That shed his blood and takes with him Asura's happiness._

_He is Asura's failure._

"Do you remember how you came to be here, Asura?"

_oh_

_He remembers coming to, shrieking. Remembers being aware but not. Remembers the malevolence in the air and a taste of very familiar chakra._

_He remembers sunshine and peace and a kind old man that sounded like someone_ like father he knew from a long time ago but cannot remember. He remembers black and blue, pink and green and brilliant silver. Pleas and promises and blood on his face and burning in his lungs with every breath.

_He remembers failing. Fighting a losing battle against a madman and a goddess._

_He remembers Indra. Remembers crimson eyes and so much blood. Lightning and fire and steal and coughed up apologies._

_He remembers his father's childer. Bitter and jaded and just a touch mad, desperate and grieving before they are gone. Swallowed whole._

_He remembers dying._

_Oh._

His eyes flutter open, and before him stands a man he knows but does not. Who is his father but is not. _His father sealed a demon in him. Had sacrificed himself for a village he had grown to love. **His father shaped the world and all those who inhabit it.**_ He sees a soft indulgent smile on the man's face, and lines of grief and tension on his shoulders.

"Asura."

"Father," the words are heavy on his tongue. It feels clumsy as it crawls out of his mouth, hesitant and unwilling.

"Naruto," the man decides to say instead, eyes soft and understanding.

"Sage," he responds and it is easier this way. Better. For the father he has lost millennia ago. Lifetimes ago, before he had found himself unable to move on, cursed in this endless looping cycle. "I failed."

"I failed you," the sage said. There is pain in his heart and Asura realizes this man still grieves him and his brother.

"We failed the world," he decides on a compromise. There is little point in arguing, but he is nothing if not stubborn. The old man's huff of amusement means he entirely understands what Naruto is trying to do.

"You can do something about it," the sage said after a moment of silence. It is an offer, perhaps a gift. There is a challenge in his eyes, a quiet promise that all hope is not lost, and he knows without doubt that Asura will fall for that. That Naruto will grab any and all opportunities to take it.

There is no point in hesitance. It has cost him, lifetimes ago when he was starting a village. When he couldn't get to Indra in time. He will not hesitate again.

"How much would you like to remember?" And Naruto would have been confused at what is being asked of him, but Asura has lived life after life. Has an inkling what his father, what the sage, intends to do.

"What can a mortal brain handle?" The sage gives him a considering look. Analyzing and calculating, no doubt cataloguing which lifetimes matter most and which do not. Which memories count and which he could do without.

"Very well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one just, popped out of my brain for no reason.
> 
> It's a set-up chapter for timetravel. Except I dunno what to do with it so until I do, it's staying here like the good little bunny it is.

**Author's Note:**

> This one was written at 4am. Forgive me.


End file.
